


always & forever

by tinysoftdrinkstate



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: #letdexinstigate2kforever, First Meeting, Fluff, I love my boys, Kissing, M/M, dex is a pianist, nursey is an author
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-21
Updated: 2017-04-21
Packaged: 2018-10-22 00:25:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10685982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tinysoftdrinkstate/pseuds/tinysoftdrinkstate
Summary: "Nursey had been staring at him all evening. Lean and freckled with bright red hair, dressed in an ever-so-slightly shabby navy blue suit. Not usually his type, but damn. Nursey felt an unexplainable pull towards the redhead, like he could have the best conversation of his life with him. Or the best sex. Y’know. Either. Both."Nursey and Dex are at a fancy party together, Nursey thinks Dex is hot, fails at hitting on him, they get together anyway.





	always & forever

Nursey had been staring at him all evening. Lean and freckled with bright red hair, dressed in an ever-so-slightly shabby navy blue suit. Not usually his type, but damn. Nursey felt an unexplainable pull towards the redhead, like he could have the best conversation of his life with him. Or the best sex. Y’know. Either. Both. 

Nursey was in the middle of refilling his drink for the third time that evening just so he could get a better look at Unidentified Hot Ginger, when he felt a sudden hand on his shoulder. He turned to see his friend Caitlin, who had dragged him here in the first place. 

“Hey, Caits, what’s up?”

“You know exactly what’s up, Derek,” Caitlin teased. 

“Humor me.”

“You should go talk to him!” 

“Talk to who, again?” Nursey feigned innocence. 

“Uh, that redhead you’ve been lowkey stalking all night?!”

“I really don’t think I’ll do that.”

“Oh, c’mon, Nurse! You haven’t been on a date in like six months, and-”

“Not true,” Nursey interrupted. 

“Oh, really? Then who exactly was more recent than that?” After watching him flounder for an answer, Caitlin took pity. “Whatever, it doesn’t matter. Point is, you should totally go talk to him!”

“But-”

“No buts, Derek. It’s for your own good,” Caitlin said, appearing to be completely serious, although Nursey knew it came from a place of love. 

“Fine! I’ll do it, if you go talk to Chris!” Nursey retorted with a smile on his face. 

“Deal!” Caitlin grinned, then sauntered away. 

Nursery sighed. He didn’t know quite what else to do, so he filled his cup all the way, chugged the whole thing, then refilled it and resigned himself. To what exactly, he didn't know, but he did know it would take a lot of guts. 

He carefully and slowly made his way across the room to Unidentified Hot Ginger, found a spot standing near a table, and watched for a bit. Not in a creepy way, he promised himself. Just… the guy was hot. And now he had a rubix cube, and was fiddling with it so intently than Nursey felt himself drawn toward the other man. 

Pulling away from the table, he strolled over to the redhead and leaned against the wall, trying to maintain his chill. “So, what else can you do with those hands?” He said with a (hopefully attractive) smirk. Nursery was actually quite proud of himself for pulling that off so well. He felt considerably less proud when he heard the response. 

Without looking at him, the other man said, completely deadpan, “I have a PhD in performance piano. Also, fuck off.” 

Honestly? Nursery had just lost all of his chill. “I, well - no, I just…” he sputtered. 

“Wasn't expecting that answer?” The freckled man looked at Nursey for the first time. 

“No! It's just that, well, that usually goes better for me.” Nursey let out a sharp laugh to (hopefully) cover up how awkward and awful he was feeling. 

“Ch’yeah, well, it didn’t this time.”

No fucking shit, Nursey thought to himself. 

They stood in silence for awhile. Awkward, at first, with the rest of the party swirling around them, but soon Derek saw the tension melt out of the other man as he got closer and closer to solving the Rubix cube. 

“Yes!” The Unidentified Hot Ginger exclaimed when he finished the puzzle, having seemingly forgotten Derek. 

“Nice job,” Nursey complemented, hoping to start a good conversation. 

“Oh, uh, thanks, I guess,” came the surprised reply.

“I’m Derek.”

“Dex. Well, Will, really, but I like Dex better.”

“I like it better, too. You can call me Nursey.”

“What? You in medical school?” Dex snorted. 

“Nah, I’m an author. Nursey’s an old hockey nickname.”

“Oh! You play hockey?”

Nursey tried to ignore how Dex’s whole face lit up, and how good he looked when it did. “Yeah, I did in college. Do you play?”

“I did in high school, and loved it, but I didn’t get the scholarship, and went for music instead,” Dex answered. “Wish I kept playing, though. I miss the ice.”

“Dude, you ever think about a community league? There are definitely a few good ones around here,” Nursey suggested. 

“I hadn’t, actually. I’m just usually pretty busy with rehearsals and stuff, for piano, so it never occurred to me to look.”

“That’s chill. Where do you play piano?” Nursey was getting more and more curious about this guy. 

“Nowhere regularly, really,” Dex looked a little ashamed. “I sometimes play for theaters and musicals and stuff around the area, or some concerts and stuff. Restaurants, when things are getting tough.” 

“Oh, dude, you play for theaters? That’s so cool! I tried acting, once. Did not go well,” Nursey laughed. “Too clumsy.”

“Really?” Dex looked him over. “Would not have guessed that.”

“Yeah, well I wouldn’t have pegged you for a piano player,” Nursey responded. “I guess we just shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, huh?”

They fell into comfortable silence for a short while, until Derek saw Cait with Chris and waved them over. 

“Hey, Derek! Who’s your friend?” Caitlyn asked, teasing. 

Nursey smiled. “Ha-ha, Cait. This is Dex. Dex, this is my friend Caitlyn, and her friend Chris.”

Chris gave a big, toothy grin. “Hey, Dex and Derek! I’m Chris, but you can call me Chowder. Nursey - can I call you Nursey? Caitlyn says she knows you from college, and that you played hockey. That’s so cool!”

Nursey laughs a little at Chris’s enthusiasm. “Hey, Chowder. Nice to meet you. I’m guessing you follow hockey - who’s your team?”

“I love the Sharks, but I also really like the Providence Falconers.” 

“That’s chill.”

Caitlyn jumped in then. “Dex, do you like hockey?”

“Oh, um, yeah, I guess. Little tough for me to catch games, but I watch when I can.”

Dex looked a little uncomfortable about being included in the conversation. Nursey noticed, and tried to subtly direct Cait and Chris away. “Hey, Cait! Isn’t this that song you like?”

“OMG, yeah it is! Chris, c’mon, let’s go dance!” As she pulled Chowder with her, Caitlyn looked over her shoulder and gave Derek a tiny wink. Guess he wasn’t as subtle as he thought. Oh well. 

“Hey, dude, you should show me piano!” Nursey exclaimed with a sudden idea. 

“What?” Dex looked up, sounding confused.

“You should totally play something for me - I think I saw a piano on the way in!” 

“Ummm….” 

“C’mon, I bet you have something memorized. It’ll be better than standing around here, anyway. Please?” When Dex still looked unsure, Nursey added, “If you play me a song, I’ll read you one of my poems.”

“Fine,” Dex sighed. “Let’s go.”

~

“Holy shit, Dex. That’s fucking gorgeous.” It took the two of them a while to find the piano Nursey saw earlier, and once they did, it took some more convincing to get Dex to play. But, God, was it worth it. 

“It’s really nothing; just something common I use for auditions or whatever,” Dex deflected the compliment. 

“No, seriously, dude. That was the best thing I’ve ever heard - you’re incredible!” 

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. You’re up, Nurse. Let’s see what you’ve got in that artist-poet soul of yours.”

“Don’t be too, excited, Pointdexter. It’s a work in progress,” Nursey warned, before taking in a deep breath, and letting it out slowly. “This is Ethereal.”

“when we die, let’s meet in the stars.  
we’ll find the brightest one in the sky,  
and fly right up and stay there for eternity  
with the stardust and the galaxies. 

or, when we die, let’s meet in the ocean.  
we’ll dive right in and never even have to come up for air.  
we’ll settle in among the sands and the seashells,  
and live and love forever.

whenever we die, wherever we end up,  
i know you’ll be with me  
always and forever.”

“I want to add a little, maybe make it part of a series or some shit. I dunno,” Nursey looked away, suddenly and surprisingly anxious to hear Dex’s reaction. When did some random white guy he just met become so important?

“Dude,” Nursey hears, and looks up to find Dex’s face in something resembling awe. “I’m not a poetry person - or even a words person, really - but that… that was fucking amazing.” 

“I… thanks,” Nursey responded. “Thank you; it means a lot.” He looked Dex straight in the eyes, so he would know how genuine it was. 

“Of course,” said Dex, not breaking eye contact.

Internally, Nursey was panicking a little. It’s only been a few hours, and rationally he knows this, but he also really, really likes this guy. He can’t help but remember back to his first thoughts upon seeing Dex; that he could have both the best conversation and the best sex with him. And now Nursey was thinking about what sex with Dex would be like… No! He stopped himself mid-thought, and instead gave Dex a wide grin.

“So, Pointdexter, now that we’ve essentially bared our souls to each other-” cue Dex’s eye-roll, “-what say you about finding a drink and perhaps a nice balcony overlooking the city?” Nursey was being over the top, and he knew it, but it would hopefully deflect from his new feelings.

“You’re ridiculous,” Dex grumbled, but followed Nursey back towards the party nonetheless. 

~

“Okay, but like…” Nursey lifted his arm to rest it on his bent knee. “What, like, happens?”

“Dude, what the shit?” Dex laughed a little, but he sounded genuinely confused. “Are you drunk? Finish your sentences, man!”

“No, dude, this is root beer! IDK, what, just… happens later, y’know?” Nursey gesticulated wildly with his free hand, apparently having barely enough sense to not throw his drink everywhere. 

“No, I don’t know, and did you just say ‘I-D-K out loud?” Dex’s voice was a sharp contrast to his face, which looked almost fondly at Derek. 

“Maybe?”

“What a pretentious hipster shit.”

“Yeah, but you love it!” Nursey sing-songed. He could not honestly tell why he was being so forward and flirty, but as long as Dex wasn’t complaining, it couldn’t hurt, right?

Dex didn’t respond right away. He looked… shocked? Scared? Introspective? Nursey was kind of shit at identifying facial expressions, but there was definitely an emotion on the freckled face in front of him. 

When Dex finally spoke up, he looked out over the balcony, not at Nursey. “You… you are great, Derek.”

“Dex, what do-”

“Shh, I promise I’m getting somewhere,” Dex turned to look at Nursey. He wasn’t smiling, really, but his face was kind. Taking a deep breath and looking away again, he said, “You are actually amazing. You’re smart, and funny, and talented, and interesting, and pretty. God, you’re so pretty, and I know I sound drunk right now, but I promise this is just Sprite, and I know this is a bad idea, but, God if I don’t want it so bad.” 

Near the end of his spiel, Dex had stood up. 

“Dex, what?” Came Nursey’s response. He scrambled to stand, using the railing to pull himself up and leaving his can of soda on the ground. “What’s a bad idea? Do you really think all that…”

Derek meant to finish his sentence, really, he did, but he couldn’t help but trail off when he found Dex right up against him, arms on his shoulders. “Will…”

Dex looked right at him. “Is this okay?” He breathed. 

“More than.”

And then they’re kissing. And logically Dex knows that something must have happened between talking and kissing, but as it’s happening, the only thing he can think about is Nursey and Nursey’s lips and Nursey’s hands and Nursey’s hair and just Nursey, Nursey, Nursey. 

When they pull apart after who-knows-how-long, Dex opens his mouth to speak, then closes it after realizing he has nothing to say. Nursey does the same. They giggle, limbs still wrapped in each other’s and staring into each other’s eyes. 

They have a few start-stop conversations. 

Nursey: “So that was, uhm…”

Dex: “It definitely was.”

A long pause. 

Dex: “So, like… what…”

Nursey: “Dude.” 

Another pause. Then, at the same time:

Dex: “Do you wanna do that again sometime?” 

Nursey: “That was really good, right?” 

They laugh. Not awkward, or forced. They laugh, and Dex’s eyes light up. They laugh, and Nursey sees forever in front of him. They laugh, and kiss, and alternate between laughing and kissing until Dex says, “The first time I saw you, I thought you looked like an asshole.”

“Yeah, not weirder than what I thought when I saw you.”

“Why? What did you think?” Dex pesters, insatiably curious.

“We-ell…” Nursey pulls Dex out to lead him home, sensing that this will be a long conversation, probably ending in something involving less talking and more action.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I worked on this for so long; please validate me with kudos and comments!
> 
> I take requests! Leave a comment below, and I'll get right to it!
> 
> The poetry is my own; please do not use anywhere without permission and credit!
> 
>  All characters belong to Ngozi!
> 
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